Brewing an easy sour for my first all-grain brew

[nathank]

Hey guys, I'm pretty new to homebrewing, it's only been a few months but I want to move away from only extract brewing and learn to go from scratch. Unfortunately my favourite beers are sours, no matter the time of year, with pale ales coming in a close second. I've been looking at this recipe for my first time as it seems simple enough, but I want some advice from anyone who may have made the same decision as to what you might have done differently, if anything at all?

Thanks in advance.

 

[3 Dawg Night]

I'd probably start with a pale ale, just to remove a degree of difficulty.

Have you brewed an extract sour already? If you already have a couple of sours under your belt, the sour part is no different, and the mash process will be the same between a sour and a pale ale.

 

[stealthfixr]

Lallemand Philly Sour yeast is an easy way to get a simple, sour beer, and much easier than the recipe listed above. It also ferments at room temp (70+F) very nicely--no temperature control needed. Many PS recipes out there, but I would use David Heath's (on his YouTube channel) Philly Sour one. Buy & pitch two packets.

 

[Dgallo]

Lacto copitched sours are extremely easy. If you use the one in the link, that’s fine. But you can simplify it even more so.

Use the grain bill but switch the yeast and cultures

Yeast: kviek Voss
Bacteria: omega 605

Cool your wort down to 95 and pitch both packs at the same time. Wrap the fermenter in a sleeping bag or comforter to hold that temp for as long as possible, (most likely 2 to 3 days you’ll be able to keep the temp over 80 which allow both strains to do what they do). Fermentation will end typically in 5 days or less, so take a gravity reading then.

If you want to add fruit. You don’t have to worry about all that racking. Just add it to the fermenter on day 3. Once you are and enjoy the level of sourness, dryhop it if you’d like. Package when your at a stable final gravity. Pretty simple when copitched

 

[BGBC]

I see OP's location is Perth. If that's Perth, Australia, might impact what specific yeast strains he can access...

All-grain, sour, fruited...none of those three are particularly difficult, but it's a lot of variables to add at once. If it was me, I'd play it safe and remove at least one of those variables to get more comfortable with the process.

 

[nathank]

Thanks for the responses guys.

I've decided I'm just gonna make a pale ale from an all-grain kit and then move onto sours after I've got some real experience. Now to save for a BrewZilla.

 

[Miraculix]

Thanks for the responses guys.

I've decided I'm just gonna make a pale ale from an all-grain kit and then move onto sours after I've got some real experience. Now to save for a BrewZilla.

There's a thread in here that describes a modern approach to sours using plantarum bacterias which couldn't be easier. You don't even need a boil or any hops, no second equipment for souring purposes only etc. And it is a copitch. Look it up, it's easier than any hopped ale could be.

 

[Miraculix]

Here it is:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/fast-souring-modern-methods.670176/

 

[Gnomebrewer]

Lallemand Philly Sour yeast is an easy way to get a simple, sour beer, and much easier than the recipe listed above.

Can you explain how Philly Sour is much easier than the linked recipe?

 

[Gnomebrewer]

There's a thread in here that describes a modern approach to sours using plantarum bacterias which couldn't be easier. You don't even need a boil or any hops, no second equipment for souring purposes only etc. And it is a copitch. Look it up, it's easier than any hopped ale could be.

It's the exact same process as in the linked recipe.

 

[madscientist451]

I would recommend this book:

Here's a podcast about hoppy sour beers which features the author of the above book:

https://hwcdn.libsyn.com/p/3/e/e/3e...14858764&hwt=a1ba7f03198fb595876dca04749890aa
If you have an insta-pot and can get Goodbelly drink, you can make small batch sours:



There are lots of ways to make a sour beer, and you can be really simple or super complicated; the Sour Hour podcast has been on the internet for 6 years and now has 120 episodes in its archive:

http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/shows/the-sour-hour/

 

[Gnomebrewer]

Lallemand Philly Sour yeast is an easy way to get a simple, sour beer, and much easier than the recipe listed above.

For any other new brewers reading this, Philly Sour is no easier or harder than the process in the 'really easy fruit sour' recipe, but will give a different product. I wouldn't recommend the really easy fruit sour as a first all grain because it uses a lot of wheat, which can cause mashing issues (it's sticky). Make a sour with extract instead. Or use all pils malt.

 

[Miraculix]

For any other new brewers reading this, Philly Sour is no easier or harder than the process in the 'really easy fruit sour' recipe, but will give a different product. I wouldn't recommend the really easy fruit sour as a first all grain because it uses a lot of wheat, which can cause mashing issues (it's sticky). Make a sour with extract instead. Or use all pils malt.

Our just go lower on the wheat. 10-20% shouldn't cause much problems unless you drain the liquid at maximum speed (don't ask how I found out )

 

[Spivey24]

And boil longer than 10 minutes if using mostly pils. I got too much sulpher on my last batch of that recipe. Not certain, but guessing it needed more boil time.